US visa denied

I along with my colleague had applied for a tourist visa to the US for a business trip. We were to represent our company, TV Max Private Limited, at the ACS 09

Technology Platform Trade Show scheduled for March 6-8, 2009 in Miami, Florida. In this connection we had already sent an official request via email to the US Embassy in Kathmandu on March 1 asking them to reschedule our interview date so that it wouldn’t coincide with our actual flight date. The request was turned down by the Visa Section of the US Embassy citing lack of sufficient staff. Nevertheless, we were hopeful that the visa would be issued to us on March 4, the day we were supposed to depart. Prior to our interview we also had

confirmed round trip business class air tickets, including VIP invitation passes, for the

aforementioned trade show. In ddition, we also had confirmed hotel bookings for our proposed short stay.However, our applications for visas were denied without even examining our documents thoroughly. We were not even given the opportunity to explain or justify the purpose of our visit. This is not the first time that Nepali nationals have had to undergo such

humiliating experience at American Embassy in Kathmandu. I wonder, if genuine visa applicants representing one of the highest tax-paying companies in Nepal with VIP invitations and return Business Class Air Tickets have to face such humiliation, one can easily imagine how the embassy deals with common applicants.

Dhurba Sharma, Managing Director, TV Max Private Limited, Kathmandu

Stark facts

The government stirred the hornet’s nest when it enlisted the tribal Tharus as Madhesis. The Tharus strongly resented this act and took to the streets calling upon the government to roll back its decision. The Maoist-led government making the mistake only proves the gross ignorance of its members about the Tharus and their history. The Tharus have their own history as being one of the oldest indigenous people inhabiting the part of the land wrongly named “Madhesh”. And the Tharus are not migrants, especially those from across the

border, who happened to make Tarai their land of settlement. In the light of historical facts, the Tharus cannot be put under the category of the Madhesis which has been now rectified through the agreement between the government and the

agitating Tharus.

Yadav Khanal, via e-mail

Corruption

The government seems to be engaged in donor-aided corruption control projects that are characterised by the indulgence in corrupt practices by the donors themselves. I would like to opine that the country does not need any donor-aided projects for the control of corruption. The country only needs political determination to control and eradicate corruption forever. It should be possible to control corruption and the impunity associated by introducing urgent rigid laws that define corruption. The law should make provisions for confiscation of the properties of all the decision-makers in all the different agencies of the state who have helped foster corrupt practices. This would effectively help eliminate corruption forever.

V P Sayami, Kathmandu